[en] Raising the level of sustainability in agriculture is foreshadowing as a target increasingly important for operators, given the need to contain costs in order to safeguard the income on the one hand and to increase the protection of environmental resources on the other. Not only that, in an increasingly global context, the need to maintain a high level of competitiveness of the manufacturing process put in place is recommended by most parties as a fundamental requirement for the to remind on the market. Precision farming is not the answer to all ills, but proves to be a flexible and powerful tool for solving defined and circumscribed problems of any region of the globe. Precision farming is also adaptable to all other forms of agriculture proposed as organic farming, multi-functional, crops for the production of bio fuels, climate change mitigation, subsistence farming and so forth, why enhances and streamlines the purposes. Finally, before being a set of technologies, it is a management style and a way of thinking to tackle any type of problem, because it enhances knowledge and optimize the rational management of resources.

[en] It is estimated that demand for food and non-food commodities is likely to increase by at least 60% globally between 2010 and 2050, with many developing countries including those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) having to double their food production. Future food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water, and energy under climate forcing, therefore decoupling future agricultural growth from the unsustainable use of these resources for increasing food production has become one of the cornerstones for a new sustainable development agenda. As a cornerstone of the new sustainable development agenda, the agricultural transformation in the next few decades have to be an eco-efficient revolution, with at least 30% to 50% increases in the efficiency of scarce resources used while also ensuring the availability of nutritious food for all and minimising many negative environmental impacts associated with contemporary food systems.

[en] Aim of study: To derive mathematical formulas to determine the optimum amounts of applied water and N at variable crop prices and rainfall conditions for sugar beet. Area of study: Karaj Research Center, Alborz Province, Iran. Material and methods: At first, mathematical formulas were derived to determine optimum applied water and nitrogen for sugar beet under rainfall occurrence, land limited (in cases that arable land area is limited and the farmer can not put more land area under irrigation) and water limited conditions when crop price depends on sugar content. Second, this theory was applied to analyze the relevant experimental data. The experiment was a split-plot design with irrigation treatments as the main plots (40%, 80%, 120% and 160% of evaporation from the surface of class A evaporation pan) and N fertilizer rates (0, 90, 180 and 270 kg N/ha) as subplots. Main results: Under land and water limiting conditions, deficit irrigation of 27% and 48% led to 6.4% and 25.4% decrease in yield and 21.4% and 96.2% increase in total net income, respectively, compared with full irrigation. Under water limiting conditions, cultivated land area increased by 93.7, 108 and 128% for 0, 60 and 120 mm rainfall, respectively. Under land limiting conditions, amounts of optimum irrigation water were 12381.2, 11781.2 and 11181.2 m3/ha, for 0, 60 and 120 mm rainfalls, respectively. The corresponding values for N were 262.5 kg/ha in all three rainfall quantities. Besides, under water limiting conditions, optimum amounts of irrigation water were 8708.1, 7828.8 and 6882.1 m3/ha for 0, 60 and 120 mm rainfalls, respectively. The corresponding values for N were 301.1, 299.5 and 295.5 kg/ha, respectively. Optimum amounts of irrigation water and N decreased by increase in rainfall amount. Research highlights: Under limited irrigation water conditions, if the rainfall, residual N, water cost and base crop price increases, the value of optimum applied water should be decreased.

[en] Geological environment carrying capacity is one of the standards that judges the human activities and geological environment whether or not compatible. Carrying out geological environment carrying capacity evaluation and adjusting human activity intensity is the key to achieve sustainable development of regional economy. Based on the variation coefficient method, the paper used the comprehensive evaluation model to evaluate the geological environment carrying capacity of Lintong district, Xi’an. The results show that the carrying capacity of 4 sub-districts excellent, 7 sub-districts is good, 8 sub-districts is medium, and 4 sub-districts is poor. The results can provide references for the development of study area, and achieve the goals of making full use of land resources, regulating the geological environment changing trend and reducing disasters. (paper)

[en] Economies rich in mineral resources, need to evaluate the merits of investing rents earned from resource extraction in other income generating activities to sustain the flow of income. It is hence important to estimate and assess the potential uses of the resource rent tax (RRT). This paper illustrates how the reinvestment of the RRT and other government revenue from mining can reduce the depreciation of the mine. This illustration is made with reference to a coal deposit in the Tavan-Tolgoi region of Mongolia. The paper also illustrates impact of mining on the macroeconomic performance of Mongolia. Standard macroeconomic frameworks that ignore the depreciation of mineral assets overstate economic performance. The paper also reviews the political issues and constraints that surround the implementation of the RRT. One option canvassed here is the granting of qualified custodial rights of the RRT to the mining firm. Such qualified rights are pertinent given that the RRT is legally the income owed to the State and investments in ventures such as human capital development can yield returns as high as 10% per annum. This study illustrates that even an investment option yielding an annual 3% return can make a significant difference. - Highlights: • We estimate resource rents owed to the state from energy resource extraction. • We show that mining revenues are over-stated when the depreciation of mineral assets are ignored. • We show that the investment of resource rents offers avenues for sustaining the flow of income. • We argue that the state can grant custody of the rents to mining firms for the management of investments

[en] Scientific planning for soil conservation requires knowledge of the relations between those factors that cause loss of soil and those that help to reduce such losses (Wischmeier and Smith 1978). With the change in precipitation pattern especially in terms of intensity over a short span of time, observed in past decade, results in soil erosion and ultimately causing sediment deposition in the reservoirs. Chhattisgarh state of India is having number of irrigation project for storing water in the form of reservoirs constructed before 1980’s. With the development of State, percentage of forest land decreases and agricultural land area is increased. Due to this development, runoff is carrying more sediment in the reservoirs causing decrease in the designed storage. For better understanding of soil erosion causing reservoir sedimentation, remote sensing and GIS technique along with established model can be used to estimate the sediment load can be successfully applied for proper management of watershed prone to soil erosion causing decrease in reservoir capacity. A number of studies have been reported for reservoir sedimentation assessment using remote sensing and GIS technique (Ahmad and Verma 2013; Gibson et al. 2010; Jain et al. 2002). In the present study, Kodar reservoir project, situated in Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh State, is assessed for sediment deposition and its causes. The reservoir is reported 30% deficit to actual irrigation in the last five years. Agriculture is the dominant land use in the watershed and consists of sandy, sandy loam and silty loam type of soil which is more prone to soil erosion due to intense rainfall. A number of parametric models have been developed to forecast soil erosion at drainage basins, yet Universal Soil Loss Equation, popularly known as USLE model is most widely used empirical formula for estimating annual soil loss from agricultural basins (Ahmad and Verma 2013). Across the country, there is no provision of sediment load observation in the small streams and watershed area. Same situation is prevailing in Chhattisgarh state also. The study demonstrates the combined approach of Remote Sensing imagery and HEC-HMS model for assessing the Kodar reservoir sedimentation.

[en] The purpose of this study is to explore the empirical relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), population, energy production, and water resources in South Asia. The newly developed approach dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) by Chudik and Pesaran (Journal of Econometrics 188:393–420, 2015a) for measuring co-integration has been applied in the present study. This procedure provides significant robust outcomes in the presence of cross-sectional dependence among the cross-sectional units. The findings confirmed that earlier models, such as mean group (MG), pooled mean group (PMG), and augmented mean group (AMG), which have been used in the literature for long data, provide misleading results in the presence of cross-sectional dependence among the cross-sectional units. A statistically significant and negative result has been observed between FDI, population, energy production, and water resources in South Asia. The governments of South Asian economies must encourage green FDI initiatives for water management, ensuring water security, securing natural resources for enhancing the sustainable development of regional economies.

[en] Rapid population growth and the challenge of food security combined with burgeoning urban development have put multiple pressures on land and water resources. Worldwide soil degradation is currently estimated at 1.9 billion hectares and is increasing at a rate of 5 to 7 million hectares each year. Once land resources are degraded, rehabilitation usually requires a long-term effort and is often expensive. To mitigate land and soil degradation, effective soil conservation and suitable rehabilitation practices are required and should be chosen according to the levels and causes of soil degradation. The basic principles of soil conservation and management for preventing land degradation are: (i) to control soil erosion by practices such as terracing, reduced tillage in combination with mulching, intercropping or grass strips, (ii) to improve soil fertility through organic and inorganic fertilizers, and (iii) to prevent accumulation of harmful substances. Natural rehabilitation of degraded land can be a practical and low-cost alternative. For example, soil stabilization through vegetative measures has been used to control wind and water erosion and simultaneously improve soil health by increasing soil organic matter and nutrient availability. Nevertheless, if land has been degraded by mining and/or contaminated by heavy metals or organic pollutants, the surrounding farmlands can also be affected through surface runoff from the contaminated site, thereby rendering them unfit for cultivation. In this case, phytoremediation technologies, defined as the use of plants and trees to remove, immobilize, transform or degrade contaminants in polluted soil or water, in combination with for instance constructed wetlands and/or microbial interactions can be used to remediate polluted land as well as to prevent contamination of farmlands. Therefore both on-farm management and off-site remediation are important to protect and improve agricultural land resources, hence improve crop productivity and environmental quality. During this seminar, case studies using some of the techniques mentioned above to prevent and rehabilitate degraded land were presented. (author)

[en] Safety and Sustainability: • A strong mutual dependency has been identified between the objectives of HSE and sustainable development goals, such as the sustainable management and use of critical mineral resources. • A practice cannot be described as sustainable that is not also safe.

[en] In a sustainable system, the soil is viewed as a fragile and living medium that must be protected and nurtured to ensure its long-term productivity and stability. However, due to high demand for food brought about by high population as well as the decline in agricultural lands, the soil is being exploited beyond its limit thus, leading to poor or sick soils. Sound soil management practices in the Philippines is being reviewed. The technologies, including the advantages and disadvantages are hereby presented. This includes proper cropping systems, fertilizer program, soil erosion control and correcting soil acidity. Sound soil management practices which conserve organic matter for long-term sustainability includes addition of compost, maintaining soil cover, increasing aggregates stability, soil tilt and diversity of soil microbial life. A healthy soil is a key component to sustainability as a health soil produce healthy crop plants and have optimum vigor or less susceptible to pests. (author)